Still Housemates
by ece23
Summary: A sequel to Housemates. The guys are still housemates, but the stress gets to Hutch when they’re given a difficult case... can he hide it from Starsky? Disclaimer: I don't own S
1. Chapter 1

**The guys are still housemates, but the stress gets to Hutch when they're given a difficult case... can he hide it from Starsky?**

**Chapter 1**

"Huu-uutch!" whined Starsky. "How many times do I have to tell ya, stop leaving beer bottles on the floor! And socks!"

"Sorry Starsk", replied Hutch, not sounding the least bit sorry.

"Slob. Jeez, just because some people have no concept of tidiness." Starsky grumbled, picking up the beer bottles. Pointedly moving Hutch's feet aside where they rested on the table, he swept some crumbs into his hand and disappeared to the kitchen to dispose of them, still complaining, leaving Hutch grinning.

Starsky had forgotten about their differences in standards when they moved in, but he was remembering now. It amazed him how someone who was so careful about what they put into their body could be willing to live in such an untidy home, and as for the back seat of Hutch's car, there could be all sorts of long-lost items back there, as well as assorted small animals.

He had to admit to himself though, although he would never admit it to his friend, that Hutch was good at cooking when he wasn't making health drinks, and he was good company. Then he saw what was in the sink.

"Hutch! Why is there a plant in our kitchen sink?"

"It was thirsty."

"Oh." Starsky nodded as if that made perfect sense, then confusion crossed his face again. Deciding it was best to just ignore it, he turned to a new topic of conversation.

"Hutch, Catherine's comin' over later," he called from the kitchen.

"Oh great. What time d'you want me to shut myself in my room?"

Catherine was Starsky's latest love interest; a petite girl with long brown hair and dark eyes, and it was getting serious between the two. Hutch was just thankful that he and Starsky had their bedrooms at opposite ends of the landing. He liked her though, she was a sweet, smart girl with a great sense of humour, and she seemed to really understand and accept the partnership between Starsky and Hutch.

Starsky laughed at that. "You don't have to shut yourself away dummy, she wants to see both of us. I thought we could go out for drinks when she gets here."

"Oh, okay. So she gets to go on a date with two guys?"

"Yeah, she likes you. Not as much as she likes me though," he added smugly.

"Yeah, yeah, Romeo."

***

They headed to a local bar for their drinks, and Starsky and Catherine steadily reduced the bar's supply of beer, while Hutch tried to keep a clearer head.

Hutch was in favour of going for a drink in the evenings after work, but Starsky seemed to have the energy to stay out all night. At least the guy wasn't dancing, thought Hutch. However, although he acted impatient, he did like Starsky's girl, and he hoped she was going to be good for his friend.

"Starsk, you do remember we have to leave for work at seven in the morning?"

Starsky had all his attention focused on Catherine and didn't answer.

"Great," sighed Hutch into his glass. At least the music playing in this bar wasn't bad and they had managed to get seats, or he would be more bored than he was already. The bar was pretty full, so Hutch sat there people-watching for a while.

Several hours later, and Starsky had finally put Catherine down, and was paying attention to Hutch again. "Hutch? What time d'you say we have to leave tomorrow?"

"Seven," Hutch yawned.

"D'you think we should be heading home?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Truth be told, Hutch had been thinking about heading home for a while now.

They drove home, Starsky stopping to say goodnight to Catherine when they reached her apartment, as Hutch waited, tapping his fingers against the dash. Finally Starsky got back into the car and allowed them to continue back to the house.

The pair started to make their way inside, but Starsky suddenly stopped to observe the outside of their house. "Is that a loose tile on the roof again?"

"Oh yeah, I think it is. Come on Starsk, let's get inside." Starsky was blocking the route to the door, and Hutch really wanted to see his bed.

"It needs fixing then." Starsky was still gazing at the roof. He wanted the house to be complete, and anything out of place annoyed him.

"Not right now it doesn't."

"Yeah, okay, and anyway, I don't know if I can trust you up there again, klutz."

Although Starsky could joke about the incident now, it really hadn't been funny at the time, when Hutch had decided to fix the roof alone and ended up injuring himself.

Hutch sighed. "Very funny. Now will you move before I'm forced to carry you inside", he replied firmly, grabbing Starsky's arm and forcing him to the door.

"It's okay Hutch, you're not my type," answered Starsky, although at least now he was heading inside.

They finally got into the house, where Starsky headed straight for his room with a tired "G'night Blintz." Hutch replied with his own goodnight, then headed for the kitchen, where he removed his plant from the sink with a smile and replaced her in her spot on the windowsill, before heading for his own much-appreciated bed.

Hutch found himself wondering what kind of work tomorrow would bring, and whether there would be any new cases for them, as he fell asleep.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Somehow, Starsky did manage to wake up in time for them to leave for work at 7am, and they arrived at the police station half an hour later. As they arrived in the squadroom, Dobey was waiting for them. "You two, in my office."

The two detectives looked at each other with questioning glances, and finding no answers there, followed Dobey into the office. Starsky kicked the door shut behind him, causing the usual bellowed reprimand from Dobey. Starsky just caught Hutch's eye and they grinned like a pair of mischievous kids.

"Got a new homicide case for you two. Three young girls reported missing, two found dead. We think they're connected." Dobey handed them photographs of the girls in question, and the grins rapidly disappeared. "Your job is to find the killer and stop him before any more are taken. And if possible, find this third girl before he kills her too."

The pair took the photos and studied them. None of the girls looked much older than 16, and Starsky wondered about their families. However, he knew that for cases like this it was better to be more emotionally detached. The girls all had different appearances, suggesting there was probably a subtle reason for their deaths if they were connected. Hutch's glance met Starsky's.

"How did they die Cap?" asked Hutch.

"Both were killed in the same way. Stabbed from behind."

The two detectives exchanged another look, then moved to exit the office. Their first course of action was to visit the third girl's parents and see what leads they could come up with.

***

"I think I'm in love." They were in the car, and for what Hutch guessed to be the millionth time, Starsky was informing him of how much he liked Catherine.

"Mm-hm."

Starsky didn't seem to notice Hutch's lack of enthusiasm. Briefly, Hutch wondered if Starsky would notice if he slammed his head down and took a nap. He'd smiled and agreed the first few times his friend had mentioned her, but now it was getting annoying. Really, he thought it was sweet, and he was happy that Starsky was happy, but he wasn't going to let him know that.

"She's gorgeous, and smart, and she likes you – but of course we can fix that. What more could I want?"

"A gag?" muttered Hutch.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing."

They had been driving around without managing to turn anything up, and both were getting irritated, as well as conscious of the fact that the third girl may not have a lot of time left.

They had been to see her parents several hours ago, and been shown the girls bedroom, and some more photographs. Lauren Brown was her name, and her parents hadn't been able to give a lot of help; they were only able to tell the detectives about their daughter's personality, and that they didn't think she'd done anything unusual lately.

***

Three days later, and visits to every snitch they had, as well as a couple of mental institutions, had still given them no clues. Looking through records of past offenders hadn't turned anything up either.

They knew things were bad when Dobey called them into his office again, and eyed them sympathetically. "I know you guys have been doing all you can, but the third girl – Lauren – she was found dead today."

Both detectives swore softly, then Starsky asked "Where was she found Cap'n?"

"Dumped, in an alley – not too far from your old apartment."

Starsky shivered. "Well, obviously 'doing all we can' isn't enough. We gotta get out there and do more." He strode from the office without waiting for an answer, and Hutch followed.

**

"How about we get some wine in and I cook for us tonight?" offered Hutch. The last week had been highly stressful and neither of them had been eating properly, but there was nothing more they could do tonight, and Hutch figured they may as well take the time out while they had it.

"Sounds nice. I'll help," replied Starsky with a smile.

"Starsk, you wouldn't know a vegetable peeler if it got in your face and introduced itself."

"Well, then, isn't it time we got acquainted?" Starsky shot back, enjoying the banter.

"There's a first time for everything," Hutch acknowledged.

They stopped off at the store on their way home to pick up the food and wine, and then headed home, where Starsky did indeed have his first meeting with a vegetable peeler. An hour later they were sitting down with the 'Paul Muni Special', with Starsky gloating over his perfectly peeled veg. As the wine bottle gradually emptied, Starsky became more talkative.

"You know Hutch, it'd be nice to see-"

Hutch quickly cut him off, "Mention her name one more time today and I'll... I don't know what I'll do, but it won't be good." However, he smiled to take the sting out of his words.

"But I like her, Hutch," he replied softly. "She might be the one."

Hutch sighed. His friend was so full of love, and sometimes he didn't fall for the right people, but loved people who went on to hurt him – Kira being one example. He'd also lost a lot of people, and Hutch didn't want to begrudge him his happiness. He simply replied "I know you do, buddy, and I hope she is."

***

Some hours later, after a lot of talking, both had disappeared to their bedrooms, determined that tomorrow would be the day that they got the lead on the killer.

Hutch was now wondering why he had a stomachache. _Maybe I ate too much,_ he thought. Starsky had insisted on a ridiculously large chocolate pudding, and Hutch had considered it his duty to help his friend finish it off. Deciding that this was a fair explanation, Hutch finally fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Hutch could hear Starsky on the phone from here. He was protesting something very loudly, and Hutch listened more intently, though he could only pick up one half of the conversation. He was in his room, wondering why he still felt ill, and Starsky's voice was carrying up through the floor. He vaguely heard "But why? I thought we were going so well", and figured that Catherine was ending things with his friend. It struck him that ending it over the phone was pretty mean, but maybe the girl had a reason.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Starsky appeared in Hutch's doorway. "You got a minute Hutch?"

Ignoring himself for the moment, Hutch smiled warmly at his friend. "Sure."

Starsky flung himself on Hutch's bed with a sigh. "She doesn't wanna see me anymore."

Hutch reached over and rubbed his friend's shoulder sympathetically. "Did she say why?"

"Not the proper reason. She just came out with all these excuses, 'it's not you, it's me, and it's personal' type stuff, y'know?"

"I'm sorry pal, I know you liked her a lot. Who understands women, huh?"

"Yeah." Starsky looked up into Hutch's face. "Hey, you okay? You look a bit...odd."

"Thanks a lot!" Hutch replied, trying to laugh it off. _Can't let Starsky know what's wrong, he'll take it as an excuse to mock my eating habits again._ Starsky loved to rib his friend about the health food he ate, claiming it was full of outrageous things such as butterfly bones and owl beaks, and this would provide his junk-food loving partner with more ammunition, or so Hutch thought. He also didn't want to jeopardize this case they were on; they couldn't afford to waste time. They could do that after the killer was caught. Besides, Starsky had enough to worry about. He loved so easily, that he was more susceptible than other people to being hurt by the objects of his affection, and he was sure to be upset now.

Starsky wasn't so easily convinced. "You'd tell me if something's wrong, huh?"

"Sure. But it isn't. Just worried about the case I guess. And worried about you," Hutch replied, turning the conversation back to Starsky.

"Ah, don't worry about me. I should be used to it by now," Starsky tried to joke, but his tone made Hutch want to cry with sympathy.

"We'll go out after work tonight, huh? You pick the place. We can talk properly," Hutch offered, trying to make his friend feel better.

***

However, when they got into work, neither of them felt better. Another girl had gone missing, this one 14 years old. "Hutch, maybe we couldn't save the other ones, but we have to find this one before they kill her," Starsky informed his partner sadly. She was the youngest victim yet, and her parents were too worried to do anything other than call them every few hours to see if they'd made progress on the case. "We can't let this happen to any more girls."

Hutch nodded in agreement. They worked non-stop all day, not even breaking for lunch, which was unusual for Starsky, but fine by Hutch, whose stomach was still bothering him.

By that evening they still hadn't managed to find anything. Whoever the killer was, they had no history. They had decided to try the locals to the area where the bodies were found, in the hope that any of them had seen anything suspicious. Given that it had been the middle of the night when the other girls died and the latest girl was discovered missing, it was unlikely that people had witnessed anything, but worth a shot.

After asking around at several shops and houses, they found a couple who'd been walking home late at night and had seen a tall, dark man, aged in his mid-30s or 40s, acting suspiciously, but had thought it best not to interfere. At least this gave them a description to go on for their suspect.

They both hoped it would all be resolved soon; the stress of the case was getting to both of them.

***

By the end of the day, neither of them felt like going out any more, but decided to just go home, and as they arrived at the house that night, Hutch told Starsky that he was going straight to bed and not bothering with dinner, claiming to be really tired. He reminded Starsky of the pizza in the freezer, and then left him to it. Starsky was feeling sorry for himself and accepted Hutch's explanation without thinking anything of it. At another time, he might have realised that something was wrong with Hutch, but he was distracted.

However, Starsky wasn't quite feeling so sorry for himself as to not be hungry, and so he did eat the pizza before heading to bed himself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was 8am, and Starsky and Hutch were determined that this would be the day when they would get the information they needed to catch the killer.

They visited the parents of the first girl to disappear again, and asked them anything they could think of to get some more information about the family. One interesting fact that they found was that the girl's father worked for Catherine's father's company; something to do with shipping.

They thanked the family, assuring them that they could call anytime if they needed something, and headed back to Starsky's car.

They visited the other three girls' families next, and discovered that the fathers of these families also worked for Catherine's father, Mr. Mason. Leaving the last house as quickly as they could, the two stopped outside to quickly plan what they should do next. Starsky was looking dejected; obviously the new developments were reminding him of the girl he had loved, and Hutch did his best to distract his friend, although he was now feeling really bad himself.

"Well, Starsk, what do you think our next stop should be?"

Starsky didn't look up, or he might have noticed the pained look on Hutch's face. "D'you think we should talk to _her_? Get her to take us to see her father?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, good idea. Let's go."

***

Hutch was the one who knocked on the door of Catherine's apartment, while Starsky waited behind him. When she opened the door, embarrassment clearly crossed her face before she invited them in. Again, Hutch was the one who did the talking. "Cathy, you probably heard in the news about the girls being kidnapped and killed lately?"

"Yeah, I did, it's terrible."

"Well, all their fathers work for _your _father. Would you take us to him? We need to know if he knows of any reason why his employees might be targeted."

"Well, if it'll help the case, of course I will, but you should know...um, he doesn't like you very much." She looked at Starsky as she said this.

***

Catherine directed the two detectives to her father's workplace and into his office, where she introduced them to him and quickly left the room.

"Mr. Mason," Starsky began, "you probably heard of the girls being killed. You know they're all daughters of employees of yours. They were all killed in the same way; stabbed from behind. Do you know of any reason at all that someone might do this?"

The man seemed to look at him with disdain before answering. When he did answer, he looked at Hutch.

"I seem to remember... a girl who worked for me some years ago... she was murdered, stabbed, as she walked home one night – a terrible tragedy. Her family always blamed my company because we'd had to keep her working late that night. Could that be related?"

"Yes, sir, it most certainly could," replied Starsky grimly.

Mason looked at Hutch again. "Are you alright, Detective?"

Starsky looked at his friend too, and was shocked. He supposed he hadn't paid a lot of attention to Hutch for a while, what with the distractions of Catherine and the case, but looking at him now, he realised that Hutch didn't look too good.

"I'm fine," replied Hutch impatiently, shrugging off Starsky's hand which had found its way onto his arm, "but what was the name of the man whose daughter was killed? We need to find him and find out what he knows before it's too late."

***

The two were in the car again, speeding towards the home of the man that Mason had given them the name and address for. Starsky kept giving Hutch worried glances, which was annoying the blond man no end.

"Starsk, will you just keep your eyes on the road!" he ordered, again. Satisfied that Starsky was following his command for the time being, he voiced another thought that had been annoying him. "You know Starsk, there's no logic to this thing."

"Since when did murderers follow our logic?" asked Starsky in response, and Hutch had to agree.

Luckily for Hutch's temper, they pulled up at the house before long, and quickly made for the door. Unsurprisingly, there was no answer to their knock.

Making use of their almost-psychic ability to know what the other was planning, Starsky headed for the back door while Hutch cautiously knocked on the front.

After they entered the house, it became clear that is was unnecessary to question the man living there. The latest victim of his kidnappings was tied up in a closet, very much alive and trying to make as much noise as she could, having realised that rescue was now possible.

***

The murderer was promptly arrested, and the girl was returned to her very relieved parents. Only after the tension of the case had died down, did Hutch begin to feel guilty, for several reasons. Mainly, that he should have found something out sooner so that fewer young girls would have had to die. In his mind, it didn't matter that Starsky hadn't known anything either; Starsky had been distracted by the business with Catherine. It was also this involvement with her that prevented Starsky from knowing that the victims' parents worked for her father. The man had made no secret of his dislike for his daughter's new man, and so Starsky had never met him, or known what exactly he did, and had actively avoided contact with him, otherwise he might have been able to make the connection between the company and the kidnappings.

If Starsky had known what his partner was thinking, and known of the guilt, he would have criticised his partner's logic, just as Hutch had criticised the murderer's logic earlier.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Hutch insisted on going home after the case was wrapped up, in spite of Starsky's strongly-expressed opinion that he should see a doctor if he was ill.

"Starsk, it's fine, it'll go away by itself."

"It's not fine, have you seen your face?"

When Hutch only glared at him, Starsky resolved to make a doctor's appointment for his partner himself if Hutch didn't do it soon, and drag Hutch there if that was what was needed. However, for now, he decided that it was easiest to comply and take Hutch home.

***

"D'you mind if I come in with him Doc, we're cops and I'm his partner. He's scared."

"I am not!" Hutch glared at Starsky.

"C'mon then," answered Starsky, grabbing Hutch's arm and practically dragging him into the Doctor's office. As expected, Hutch had not made his own appointment, but kept putting it off, and in the end Starsky had made it for him, then forced him into the car to go there.

Several questions – and interruptions from Starsky – later, and the doctor diagnosed an ulcer.

"It can be caused by an improper diet, or skipping meals, but stress can worsen the symptoms – have you been under any stress lately?", the doctor asked.

"You could say that," was Hutch's answer. Starsky gave him a look, then elaborated for the doctor.

"Yeah, we been working on a murder case – it's taken a while to solve, and we didn't have a lot of time for anything else. It was a nasty case."

"I see. Well, that wouldn't help. Well, Detective," he continued, turning to Hutch, "I'll give you this prescription, and you," he turned back to Starsky, "make sure he takes them. Also watch what he eats – nothing spicy or fattening, and no alcohol or fizzy drinks."

Starsky grinned at Hutch. "With your diet, that shouldn't be a problem. He eats like a rabbit," he informed the doctor.

***

Back at the house, Hutch was taking full advantage of the situation to get Starsky waiting on him. Starsky was doing it, but giving Hutch a severe lecture at the same time. "Don't lie to me again Hutch. Ever. Well, unless you're planning me a surprise party. But we're partners, and we're best friends, and we're supposed to share things with each other, so if something's wrong, you gotta tell me, not hide it."

"What if you'd made fun of me?" Hutch asked, trying to make light of the situation.

"Why would I do that?"

"Well, I'd have made fun of you. Anyway, how come this didn't happen to you, we were both stressed about the case, and you eat way more garbage than I do."

For that, Starsky threw a cushion at Hutch's head.

"Hey, no attacking the patient!" Hutch complained.

***

Over the next couple of weeks, much to Starsky's amusement and Hutch's annoyance, Hutch began to crave junk food. Starsky realised though that as much as he wanted Hutch to come over to his side and love junk food, it was probably better for his health to stop him getting it. He frequently caught the blond trying to steal bits of food from him, and so finally decided that it was safer and easier if they both just ate 'rabbit food'. Starsky figured that this was a fair sacrifice on his part, as if it wasn't for his preoccupation, he might have noticed that something was wrong with his partner and been able to do something sooner.

They were now both feeling guilty: Hutch about the case, and Starsky about Hutch. However, after several hours of talking, they both managed to make each other feel better, and realise that there was little they could have done differently.

Starsky decided that he could help to make it up to Hutch by repairing the loose tiles he had seen on the roof before this whole thing began. However, Hutch was less enthusiastic, as he sat outside watching Starsky pretending to know what he was doing on the roof.

"Starsk, you're supposed to be reducing my stress, not giving me a heart attack."

"Hutch, it's perfectly safe up here. Not everyone is as clumsy as you." Starsky did seem to be doing well, but Hutch couldn't stop himself worrying.

"Starsk, I think that's as fixed as it's going to get, why don't you come down now?"

Hutch moved over to hold the bottom of their new ladder.

Starsky sighed. "Fine. I'm done up here anyway, but I don't know what you're so worried about." He started to climb down the ladder as Hutch continued to hold it steady. As Starsky came nearer to the ground, he decided it was easier to slide down the ladder. Unfortunately he slid quicker than he expected, and would have landed on the ground if he hadn't landed in Hutch's arms.

Hutch grinned down at him. "I thought you said it was safe for you up there. Klutz."

The End


End file.
